Comics. Do I honestly care anymore?
Aug. 22nd, 2006 04:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerWe just got the new comics shipment in today. Every new shipment day for the past six or so months, maybe even a year now, a thought has been popping in my head more and more as I sort through the brand new comics week after week.
It's kind of amazing how little of a shit I could really give about most of these books.
I mean, I'm a comic fanboy. I adore comics. I adore superheroes especially. But most of what DC and Marvel have been doing of late has just been making me increasingly apathetic toward these brilliant characters. I used to get downright outraged, but I don't have the energy for being outraged month after month. I just don't give a shit. Increasingly, it seems to me that we're seeing stories done for shock value to jack up sales and controversy; "Hey, let's kill off this character! Hey, let's fuck over this other character! Hey, let's rape this character! Hey, let's turn this character into a villain!" I'm not saying I'm against these things necessarily, but more and more they are all so cynically handled, without any heart or respect. What happened to good storytelling, for God's sake?
I just could really give a rat's ass for most comics these days, it seems.
Here, for those that are interested, are the comics I actively enjoy:
EX MACHINA and Y-THE LAST MAN: One a drama of political intrigue about a superhero who becomes Mayor of New York and the other about the only surviving male in a world of women, Brian K. Vaughan is writing two of the best books on the market today.
INVINCIBLE and THE WALKING DEAD: And meanwhile, Robert Kirkman produces the other two best books out there. DEAD is like a Romero TV series, a story focusing on the survivors in a post-zombie-apocalypse world. INVINCIBLE is a sneaky little book that starts off so slow and light that you wouldn't ever think that, within a few issues, it will become the single best superhero comic coming out today.
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: Or at least, it's tied closely with this. Pure, elegant, fun, and powerful superhero stories. Near perfection each issue.
DAREDEVIL and CAPTAIN AMERICA: Ed Brubaker is kicking so much ass with these.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: I've known Brad Meltzer since his days as a customer at Big Planet in Bethesda, when he was just a lowly best-selling author of legal thrillers. So I've gotta support my boy since he's made it to the big leagues in comics. While I may have disliked (intensely, in places) what he actually did in IDENTITY CRISIS, there's no denying that he writes the DC Comics superheroes better than I have read in years. He *gets* these characters, even if his plots have him putting them through the wringer. So far, his JLA promises to be damn good.
GREEN LANTERN: "Well duh," you may say. But honestly, this book started off really slow, and even this hardcore Hal fan had a damn hard time keeping interest for the first six or so issues there. But lately, it's been kicking serious ass more and more.
ASTONISHING X-MEN: Most of you know that, for the most part, I kinda hate Joss Whedon. I'm the one guy who hates hates HATES his snappy dialogue. It drives me absolutely bonkers. "Yeah, your not saying that would be nifty."? GAHH! Makes me want to smash something. Give me Shane Black over Joss Whedon any fucking day of the week. And yet, *regardless* of these feelings, his writing on ASTONISHING is... well, bloody astonishing. Coupled with John Cassaday, it's an excellent book. And hell, I'm even in the minority that liked the universally-panned "Dangerous" storyline. I am totally weird.
PLANETARY: When it actually comes out, nothing else that week can top it.
JONAH HEX: Pure hardcore kick ass western. God, I hope it doesn't get canceled.
SHE-HULK: Wacky superhero legal comedy. Utter delightfulness.
NEXTWAVE: Crack.
SHAOLIN COWBOY: A shaolin monk who's a cowboy. The most satisfying example of style over substance I have ever seen in a comic.
PUNISHER: Month after month, one of the most brutal, powerfully depressing books out there. I'm the kind of guy who can watch REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and come out of it grinning. Garth Ennis' work on PUNISHER is unrelenting, disturbing, and without a shred of Ennis' trademark obnoxiousness.
CONAN: Dude, I need to read the original Conan books, clearly. Because these are hardcore. Conan is a smart motherfucker, and these stories are just pure awesomeness.
SQUADRON SUPREME: Well, the previous series SUPREME POWER was awesome, but since they changed it to a PG-13 book (stupid, stupid move) it's kinda been dragging. C'mon, J. Michael Straczynski! Pick up the pace! Show me you still got it in you!
And pretty much anything Alan Moore does is worth the money. He's the greatest.
Ok, I just needed to make that list to prove to myself that I actually do still read comics. I just look at the vast majority of this CIVIL WAR and 52 claptrap and just roll my eyes before tossing it back on the shelves. As long as I never become the comic lover who doesn't read comics anymore (and they exist), I know I am just that much further away from becoming the Comic Book Guy. Just a teeny bit.
It's kind of amazing how little of a shit I could really give about most of these books.
I mean, I'm a comic fanboy. I adore comics. I adore superheroes especially. But most of what DC and Marvel have been doing of late has just been making me increasingly apathetic toward these brilliant characters. I used to get downright outraged, but I don't have the energy for being outraged month after month. I just don't give a shit. Increasingly, it seems to me that we're seeing stories done for shock value to jack up sales and controversy; "Hey, let's kill off this character! Hey, let's fuck over this other character! Hey, let's rape this character! Hey, let's turn this character into a villain!" I'm not saying I'm against these things necessarily, but more and more they are all so cynically handled, without any heart or respect. What happened to good storytelling, for God's sake?
I just could really give a rat's ass for most comics these days, it seems.
Here, for those that are interested, are the comics I actively enjoy:
EX MACHINA and Y-THE LAST MAN: One a drama of political intrigue about a superhero who becomes Mayor of New York and the other about the only surviving male in a world of women, Brian K. Vaughan is writing two of the best books on the market today.
INVINCIBLE and THE WALKING DEAD: And meanwhile, Robert Kirkman produces the other two best books out there. DEAD is like a Romero TV series, a story focusing on the survivors in a post-zombie-apocalypse world. INVINCIBLE is a sneaky little book that starts off so slow and light that you wouldn't ever think that, within a few issues, it will become the single best superhero comic coming out today.
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN: Or at least, it's tied closely with this. Pure, elegant, fun, and powerful superhero stories. Near perfection each issue.
DAREDEVIL and CAPTAIN AMERICA: Ed Brubaker is kicking so much ass with these.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: I've known Brad Meltzer since his days as a customer at Big Planet in Bethesda, when he was just a lowly best-selling author of legal thrillers. So I've gotta support my boy since he's made it to the big leagues in comics. While I may have disliked (intensely, in places) what he actually did in IDENTITY CRISIS, there's no denying that he writes the DC Comics superheroes better than I have read in years. He *gets* these characters, even if his plots have him putting them through the wringer. So far, his JLA promises to be damn good.
GREEN LANTERN: "Well duh," you may say. But honestly, this book started off really slow, and even this hardcore Hal fan had a damn hard time keeping interest for the first six or so issues there. But lately, it's been kicking serious ass more and more.
ASTONISHING X-MEN: Most of you know that, for the most part, I kinda hate Joss Whedon. I'm the one guy who hates hates HATES his snappy dialogue. It drives me absolutely bonkers. "Yeah, your not saying that would be nifty."? GAHH! Makes me want to smash something. Give me Shane Black over Joss Whedon any fucking day of the week. And yet, *regardless* of these feelings, his writing on ASTONISHING is... well, bloody astonishing. Coupled with John Cassaday, it's an excellent book. And hell, I'm even in the minority that liked the universally-panned "Dangerous" storyline. I am totally weird.
PLANETARY: When it actually comes out, nothing else that week can top it.
JONAH HEX: Pure hardcore kick ass western. God, I hope it doesn't get canceled.
SHE-HULK: Wacky superhero legal comedy. Utter delightfulness.
NEXTWAVE: Crack.
SHAOLIN COWBOY: A shaolin monk who's a cowboy. The most satisfying example of style over substance I have ever seen in a comic.
PUNISHER: Month after month, one of the most brutal, powerfully depressing books out there. I'm the kind of guy who can watch REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and come out of it grinning. Garth Ennis' work on PUNISHER is unrelenting, disturbing, and without a shred of Ennis' trademark obnoxiousness.
CONAN: Dude, I need to read the original Conan books, clearly. Because these are hardcore. Conan is a smart motherfucker, and these stories are just pure awesomeness.
SQUADRON SUPREME: Well, the previous series SUPREME POWER was awesome, but since they changed it to a PG-13 book (stupid, stupid move) it's kinda been dragging. C'mon, J. Michael Straczynski! Pick up the pace! Show me you still got it in you!
And pretty much anything Alan Moore does is worth the money. He's the greatest.
Ok, I just needed to make that list to prove to myself that I actually do still read comics. I just look at the vast majority of this CIVIL WAR and 52 claptrap and just roll my eyes before tossing it back on the shelves. As long as I never become the comic lover who doesn't read comics anymore (and they exist), I know I am just that much further away from becoming the Comic Book Guy. Just a teeny bit.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 09:05 pm (UTC)Turns of phrase like this, dearest, is what makes reading your LJ such a pleasure. <3
You know, we bonded intensely over a few things, didn't we? Like mutual love for Hal Jordan. I agree, Green Lantern is finally taking off, although I'm not enamored of the overly simplified art in a few of the issues. I loved the art in Rebirth.
We also bonded over rolling our eyes at the OMGSQUEEEEERUNAWAYSYOUNGAVENGERS thing. Liking a character merely because they are gay is....asinine.
So many huge vats of WORD for the Squadron Supreme. (Actually, MK means it's a 15+ title, but who's quibbling?) I'm so depressed that it's no longer a MAX book.
You turned me on to Ex Machina, so that's your fault.
Planetary: YES! All of Wildstorm is shaping up to be a good read. Ennis is writing the GODDAMN MIDNIGHTER SERIES for Wildstorm, which makes me wet, frankly. Morrison on the Authority and Wildcats will be...interesting.
I'm going to read Invincible because of you. Bastard.
Yes on Punisher, of course. Ennis has managed to do thirty six issues thus far and not really piss me off, and that's remarkable.
It's so sad that there aren't any really good Spidey titles right now. Why can't JMS take the freshness he showed on Supreme Power and translate that to his rendering of Spidey? There's that one chick on s_d that is the JMS anti-defamation squad that cracks me up.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 09:16 pm (UTC):) Yay!
We also bonded over rolling our eyes at the OMGSQUEEEEERUNAWAYSYOUNGAVENGERS thing. Liking a character merely because they are gay is....asinine.
I just really hate the whole "Adults are all either wrong or evil" attitude of the whole thing, embodied at its worst by the sarcastic self-righteousness of Gert.
So many huge vats of WORD for the Squadron Supreme. (Actually, MK means it's a 15+ title, but who's quibbling?) I'm so depressed that it's no longer a MAX book.
It was one of the few examples of a book that actually used its nudity, violence, and cursing well. Damn well. Now it feels strangely castrated. But I'm sticking with it.
You turned me on to Ex Machina, so that's your fault.
I'm just glad someone listens when I rant on with comic pimpery!
I'm going to read Invincible because of you. Bastard.
Please do. And I cannot stress this enough, IT STARTS OFF SLOW, SO BEAR WITH IT. If you only read the first trade, you won't know what the big deal is. It's in the second trade that things take a huge fucking left turn, and from there it gets better and better with each issue.
Yes on Punisher, of course. Ennis has managed to do thirty six issues thus far and not really piss me off, and that's remarkable.
Same here. He is absolutely on.
It's so sad that there aren't any really good Spidey titles right now. Why can't JMS take the freshness he showed on Supreme Power and translate that to his rendering of Spidey? There's that one chick on s_d that is the JMS anti-defamation squad that cracks me up.
Yeah, that is a very good question. I guess the closest thing to it is Ultimate Spider-Man, except that Bendis bugs the crap outta me most of the time. Much like Stephen King, Bendis would be brilliant if editors weren't fucking afraid to pare him down!!
ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:25 pm (UTC)Godammit, Heffie, why didn't you remind me to do my Bendismatic Oh My God Tagatron 5000 post on scans_daily?!?!? CURSE YOU!
To me, it's just sad that a core Marvel character has poor writing I've noticed that your average rabid fan of JMS' Spidey work is often 1) very young and even more often 2) not really knowledgeable about Spidey canon and/or 3) only been in the fandom for a couple of years, without depth of exposure to the larger Marvelverse. If you start off only reading JMS' Spidey and get acculterated to crap, well....
Thank god PAD had such a long, good run on Hulk. I wish he'd do the title again. I'm so bitter he's no longer writing it. My god, Grey was so great!
Supreme Power? Made me lust for Zarda, and I'm straighter than the perfect line between two points. Of course, I lusted for Doc Spectrum more, but you get the idea. Gary Frank draws women beautifully.
If you can talk me into All Star Superman (meaning, past my Quitely hate), you'll win a HUGE PRIZE OMG.
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:29 pm (UTC)David's Hulk is truly amazing. That's another generally solid writer. His current Spider-Man stuff is... well, I'm reserving judgement to see where he's going with it.
Lust for Zarda? There we part ways, my dear, for I hate that evil, evil woman so very much. I mean, hot, yes, but still, EVIL. Cannot WAIT to see her get hers, and to have someone wipe that cruel smile off her lips.
Quitely's art is worlds above his previous work. and while 60% of Grant Morrison's work makes me itch, he's on the top of his game here. But if I do persuade you, will the prize be akin to what I'd win if I shagged a lesbian?
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:30 pm (UTC)AND: why haven't I read Shaolin Cowboy? Wrrrrryyy?
AND: I'm so sick of Joss Whedon, but I have to compulsively read the book in the vain hope that he'll give Emma Frost a savage beatdown courtesy of Kitty. Or better yet, Jean. I want Jean to come back and pull another "the Phoenix burns through all deception" on Emma and put Ms. Frost in the nuthouse again. For good.
Question
Date: 2006-08-22 09:34 pm (UTC)Which reminds me: having READ all of Supreme Power and Squadron Supreme, I'm still unclear how Zarda went from sociopathic alien to member of the Squadron Supreme. They left out a whole vital sequence explaining, y'know, how she wasn't going to kill people anymore, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll look at AASM. I looked at the first issue and wasn't totally nauseated.
I can't forgive Quitely because he reminds me of Kordey, and that reminds me of Angle vomiting her lunch all over Logan. Repeatedly. Graphically.
Ewww.
Re: Question
Date: 2006-08-22 09:38 pm (UTC)Yeah, it's FARRRR superior to Kordey, I can say that.
Hey, don't ewww, it's John Constantine's joke. One of my favorite Hellblazer moments ever.
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:42 pm (UTC)As one who's read tomorrow's issue of AXM, I shall be verrrrrrrrry interested to see what the hell he's up to with Emma. Cuz... uh... I'm just not sure now.
The one thing that bugs me is how Kitty is so clearly Joss' Mary Sue. Or at least, I can't decide if he wants to fuck her or be her.
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:51 pm (UTC)Likely both!! Mrah ha ha ha.
I'm all for Kitty love, because careful analysis reveals, of course, that her powers truly are awesome, and that she literally can kick most people's asses. Ironically? I don't think Whedon understands the full implications of Kitty's powers like other X-writers have; he doesn't utilize them in interesting ways, like CC and others did in old school X-Men/Excalibur.
But I'm hatin' on Whedon because he gives Hank NO LOVE. It's all Emma Emma Emma Kitty Kitty Kitty. Shut up, Joss! Give us some actual character development for Hank and Scott! Remember them, Joss? Two of the original five? Y'know, the people that STARTED the X-Men (along with Chucky, of course)?
Re: Question
Date: 2006-08-22 09:52 pm (UTC)Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 09:56 pm (UTC)Not nearly as cool as I'll make him. But still.
Yeah, Joss has Kitty, Bendis has Spider-Woman, Alan Grant has Ventriloquist and Anarky, etc.
Re: Question
Date: 2006-08-22 09:57 pm (UTC)Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-22 10:00 pm (UTC)...heh. Couldn't resist.
Re: Question
Date: 2006-08-22 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 11:29 pm (UTC)And the only thing I hate more than the constant crossover end-of-the-world type shit they've been doing is "Runaways" and "Young Avengers". Normally, I respect and support the opinions of the scans_daily guys, but I don't understand why they go so insane for teenagers acting like children acting like they know what they're doing and everyone else can just go to hell.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 02:50 am (UTC)"everyone I write sounds like the same peevish precocious fourteen-year-old girl, even Wolverine"
THANK you! I feel like a damn weirdo.
She-Hulk is delightful, especially for fans of THING.
but I don't understand why they go so insane for teenagers acting like children acting like they know what they're doing and everyone else can just go to hell.
And THANK YOU again!
Agreeancification.
Date: 2006-08-23 02:53 am (UTC)I bought both Emerald Dawns when they were on the stands.
I hunted down every issue of Action Comics Weekly so I knew what happened between the joyless shitheap of wasted paper known as Green Lantern Corps' #224 and the almost-eventful relaunch GL #1 (from 1990.)
I know shitty GL when I see it, and until very recently, I saw it a lot.
I'm still not buying anything right now, although I HAD to have Hellboy: Makoma.
Know anybody who'd buy my entire collection, by any chance? I'd trade all my Miller Daredevils for a cheap guitar and some decent vodka sauce...
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-23 02:55 am (UTC)I shall dispatch them in a way that would make Warren Ellis vomit.
Re: Agreeancification.
Date: 2006-08-23 03:55 am (UTC)Ehh, I always recommend ebay. You'd get the best deals, honestly.
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-23 03:58 am (UTC)Re: Agreeancification.
Date: 2006-08-23 05:49 am (UTC)<3
<3
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 10:26 am (UTC)I feel like there is some world conquest potential in there, but I can't figure out how.
In other news, pretty much everything
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 10:32 am (UTC)Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-24 04:19 pm (UTC)Peter David = awesome.
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-24 04:21 pm (UTC)>8)X
Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-24 05:19 pm (UTC)Re: ZING!
Date: 2006-08-24 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-24 05:25 pm (UTC)Despite your scary Here's Johnny icon...
Date: 2006-08-24 07:19 pm (UTC)